


Fire

by MKW_Raider



Series: Khelone Verse [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, Minor Original Character(s), Slow Burn, Turtle!Chloé, mentions of the miraculous class, tagging as slow burn bc relationship does not happen in this but feelings do
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:48:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26626207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MKW_Raider/pseuds/MKW_Raider
Summary: The fight against Hawkmoth has only gotten harder and with most of their allies having a compromised identity of some kind, Ladybug and Chat Noir need a new permanent hero by their side.When Chat Noir gives the Turtle Miraculous to the one person Ladybug did not want to give a second chance, will their team crumble or only become stronger?Can Chloe, as Khelone, prove she's worthy to wield the Turtle and fight by Ladybug and Chat Noir's side again?Fighting akumas, saving the city, and trying to live a normal life in their spare time just got a whole lot more complicated when newly surfaced feelings are added to the mix.
Relationships: Chloé Bourgeois/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Khelone Verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2036827
Comments: 32
Kudos: 141





	1. Waves Are Climbing Past Your Knees, It's Just The Coming Of The Seas

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for checking out this story! This will be part of a series, with the coming for chapters being part one, and new story, Shield, being part 2. Part two of the series is actually what I started working on first, before I began thinking up ideas for Fire, but once my ideas came for this I thought I could connect the two stories.
> 
> I'm pretty excited with my concept for Turtle!Chloe and I'm really proud to be able to share her new hero Persona Khelone with you all.
> 
> For my Pooh Bear, for encouraging me and being by my side through all of my ramblings.

Algernon was getting on Marinette’s last nerve. She and Chat had been trying to find some way to fight Hawkmoth’s most recent akuma and had so far come up with nothing. The akuma towered over them, a mass of grey smoke with arms branching off in every direction. Algernon was shielded from attack on all sides, and while it didn’t appear that he had a face, his arms always seemed to stop them no matter what direction they approached from. Neither she or Chat had managed to hit the cloud of grey smoke, but Ladybug was really hoping there was something solid in there because she didn’t think her Lucky Charm would give her a vacuum large enough for all the smoke.

Neither of the duo had used their power yet, Chat didn’t have anything to actually touch, and Ladybug had been trying to figure out where the akuma’s object was but she was starting to lose her patience. Her yoyo had been slicing through air for the past few minutes and she couldn’t find anything solid. Swinging her yoyo at the akuma’s central mass one more time, Ladybug was shoved backwards as Algernon solidified one of his arms and hit her in the chest.

“That’s it, Lucky Charm.” Ladybug yelled. Throwing her yoyo into the sky, a brilliant flash of pink light covered the area and a gramophone fell into her arms. Marinette almost dropped it in shock. Algernon was still attacking Chat but Ladybug knew what this meant. 

After the difficulties surrounding Queen Bee and the public knowing her identity, Ladybug, Chat and Fu had sat down and seriously discussed the next steps in the fight against Hawkmoth. Akumas had been becoming more difficult to battle and the strain on Chat and Ladybug had only increased. They had all agreed that should the situation call for it, one of them would have to choose a new permanent hero to help against Hawkmoth. Marinette had had a few ideas for a permanent hero, potentially considering bumping Rena or Carapace into permanent heroes, but Fu had urged her to reconsider. Queen Bee’s identity had been known by all of Paris, which included Hawkmoth, and he had used that against them, trying to akumatize Chloé on different occasions and using her desire to have the miraculous to try to utilize her in his evil plans. Ladybug had made the decision to retire every temporary hero who’s identity had been compromised.

Almost all of the current temporary miraculous team’s identities had been revealed to someone at one point or another. Chloé had decided to reveal herself to the world, Luka’s identity was known by Adrien, and Adrien was known by Luka. Nino and Alya knew each other's identities, and Kagami had been discovered by Hawkmoth in her first transformation. The only heroes who hadn’t been compromised were Kim and Max.

Marinette had gone to every hero who had fought beside her and explained that they could no longer wield their miraculous. She didn’t want a repeat of Queen Bee, telling someone they couldn’t use their miraculous only to bring them back again. It had been hard to hurt her friends by telling them they couldn’t help any longer, but it was for the best. She had even gone to Chloé to tell her exactly why she couldn’t use the miraculous again, but that had gone poorly when Chloé started to get angry and Marinette had ended up snapping at her and had called her entitled and unworthy. She felt kind of bad after that, but tried to rationalize her actions that it was Chloé and she deserved some harsh truth every so often. That had been months ago, and no temporary heroes had been needed since.

Marinette cleared her mind, focusing on heading towards Fu as quickly as possible while still taking precautions to still cut through alleys and disappear before dropping her transformation. Arriving at Fu’s massage shop, she tried to rush through the process. Fu told her to pick the Miraculous that spoke to her, as this would most likely be their new permanent hero. Marinette had no idea who she would pick, but her eyes were drawn to the Turtle, and she knew the Miraculous of Protection was the one they needed most.

Marinette ran outside as fast as she could, worried about leaving Chat Noir alone for so long. Transforming, Ladybug began jumping across the rooftops, mind racing, as she tried to find a solution quickly so she could rejoin the akuma fight. She needed to decide who she could trust as a permanent hero. Kim and Max were still completely uncompromised, but while she trusted them with being temporary heroes, she didn’t know how either of them would handle the Turtle Miraculous and being a permanent hero. She had no idea who she would have made a permanent hero before, let alone now that she had to pick a new permanent Turtle. Part of her wondered if she should pick someone entirely new, like Ivan who was already so protective, or if she should give the turtle to someone who has already had a miraculous, like Luka or Kagami.

Mid leap between buildings, a sharp yell pierced the air, and she looked up in time to watch a black shape go flying away from the akuma. Knowing it had to have been her partner, Marinette had just enough time to ready her yoyo before her next leap took her sailing over the akuma. He used one of his many arms to grab her leg and throw her towards the ground.

The Turtle Miraculous box was held loosely in her hand as she jumped and dodged the akuma’s swings. Marinette knew she needed to escape, but the akuma’s advance on her was relentless. His every strike kept her on her toes, taking all of her concentration to avoid being hit. Marinette’s mind was split, half of her focused on the fight at hand looking for an opening, the other half trying to think of who Fu had meant when he told her a new turtle would be the permanent holder.

Ducking under a wild arm from her left, Ladybug threw her yoyo up and called for a second Lucky Charm and caught a bell before rolling out of reach from the akuma. One hand swung the yoyo to shield her from the akuma while the other rolled the small silver bell around her palm as her eyes cut from building to building looking for anything she could use to help her against the akuma. Think, Marinette, think, she knew there had to be something but the akuma was taking too much of her concentration. There was nothing for her to use. 

Two seconds before Marinette was going to throw the bell at the akuma in frustration, Chat Noir dropped from a rooftop and readied his baton, his golden bell glinting in the light. A dawning moment of understanding had Ladybug shifting the turtle miraculous to her dominant hand, while still trying to avoid the akuma.

“Chat!” Ladybug yelled, before throwing the box as far as she could in his general direction, hoping he understood what she meant and found someone to help them.

Ladybug didn’t see if he caught the Miraculous, but she did see a black blur jump towards the rooftops before the akuma yelled and struck at her with more speed than before.

* * *

As Chat Noir got further away from the sounds of battle, there were two things he knew. One, Ladybug always had a plan and his complete faith in that plan, and two, the choosing of a miraculous was serious and not something Ladybug had ever trusted him with before. Adrien wanted to pick someone as serious and dedicated as his Lady, someone that would impress her and the citizens of Paris, someone like Marinette, but his heart was leading him elsewhere. This would be the turtle’s second hero chosen, a second chance of sorts for the miraculous. Adrien would love to have Marinette fight by his side again, but a deeper part of him told him where to go, he just hoped Ladybug wouldn’t be too mad at his choice.

Adrien pushed himself through his city. He faltered briefly above the Dupain-Cheng bakery, but pushed himself forward. Extending his baton, he threw himself higher into the air, before landing on a familiar balcony. In front of him on a pool chair, leaning over her phone, sat Chloé Bourgeois. He could faintly hear the sound of Nadja Chamack’s voice relaying the battle.

Chloé looked more startled than anything that he was there, “Chat Noir?”

For a moment he felt ridiculous, how did Ladybug normally do this? Then he remembered the pinky promises and heartfelt declarations from his and Chloé’s past, and he knew what to say. “Chloé Bourgeois, this is the Turtle Miraculous, which grants the power of protection. You’ll use it to protect those you love, and all citizens of Paris while you fight alongside us. Do you want this second chance?”

In all the years he had known her, Adrien had never actually managed to render her speechless. Her phone had fallen from her hands to the ground below her, still playing live footage from the battle, and one of Chloé’s hands had begun to reach out towards him before faltering. 

“Does Ladybug actually want me using the miraculous?”

“Who do you think gave me the miraculous in the first place, Queenie?” Adrien decided that what Chloé didn’t know couldn’t hurt her, just as it wouldn’t hurt Ladybug.

Chloé still took a moment, her eyes gazing at the miraculous box in his outstretched hand. Just as he was beginning to think she wouldn’t take it and he had left Ladybug alone for no reason, Chloé grabbed the box and smiled at him. There was a determined look in her eye as she said, “You can trust me.”

Adrien never really got to focus on how people look when transforming, though he had the general idea of how he looked thanks to his mirrors, but watching Chloé transform made him feel clumsy. The transformation washed over his friend as she spun with an elegance he didn’t think he possessed, and when the green light faded moments later, he was sure he had made the right choice. Where his friend had stood moments before was now a confident superhero with a determined glint in her eye.

He took a moment to appreciate her costume. It was different from Carapace’s, but it also didn’t remind him of how she had looked as Queen Bee. 

Chloé’s hair was free of her usual ponytail, instead hanging freely around her face. Her mask was simple, the same colour as her costume. A darker green coloured her ballet shoes, knee pads, the shell design on her chest, as well as her gloves and the two stripes on her arms. Chloé had baggier pants and a sash tied around her waist, with her shield attached to her back.

Chloé looked happier and, in his opinion, ready to kick some akuma ass.

Chat Noir smirked. “Let’s Go.”

* * *

Marinette was going to throw Chat Noir off of her roof the next time she saw him. She had been flipping around and dodging Algernon the entire time he had been gone, occasionally trying to hit him, but also occasionally being hit. She only had a few minutes until she transformed back. As she was picking herself up from the collapsed roof of a car, wondering where he could possibly be, when she saw green. Standing between her and an arm of the akuma was the new Turtle wielder, a tall figure covered in green with shocking blonde hair. For a moment, Marinette froze, wondering if Chat Noir had chosen Adrien as their new partner, but then the Turtle turned, and Marinette saw blue eyes and a female figure.

“Ladybug, meet Khelone!” Chat Noir yelled as he landed somewhere off to her left, and Ladybug took a second to regroup. She needed to take a moment to think. The akuma’s arms weren’t solid unless he was attacking, but there did seem to be a part of him that remained solid, an area in the center of the smoke she had nicked with her yoyo. Ladybug saw her plan form in her mind and knew what needed to be done.

“Khelone, call for Shellter, try to make him mad and draw his attention to you, Chat get behind him and aim for his centre.” Ladybug didn’t wait for them to listen, she just leapt into the air and swung towards the akuma, ready for round two. 

Although the smoke akuma didn’t have a face, Ladybug definitely felt that throwing her yoyo at him from above had led to all eyes on her. From her vantage point, she could see Chat disappear into the background, trying to avoid the akuma’s attention while waiting to strike and she could see Khelone had brought up her shield, slowly advancing closer to the centre mass with the arms striking harmlessly against her shield.

Ladybug continued swinging above the akuma’s head as more and more of his arms focused on Khelone. The akuma’s ‘back’ only had a few swinging arms guarding it, meaning Chat Noir would have an open shot soon.

A smile crept across Ladybug’s face as they fought. She and Chat Noir had always been fantastic partners, but their new addition was working with them seamlessly. Any apprehension about a new permanent holder started to ease as she realized the fight would be over soon. Until things started going wrong.

Despite Shellter being an almost impenetrable shield, the dozens of arms assaulting the shield had led to the Turtle beginning to struggle. Two of the akuma’s arms had somehow started fighting their way through the shield, inching closer to the new hero with every flail and halting the forward motion she had been making. The arms that had been uselessly smacking against the shield began mimicking the two breaching the shield, and cracks had begun to appear. The akuma had lost interest in Ladybug, and was now solely focused on Khelone. She saw Chat Noir shake his head and knew he didn’t have a shot to take out the akuma’s centre.

Brief panic flashed through her mind as Khelone was forced to one knee due to the strain of keeping Shellter active and the arms from fully entering the circle. Clenching her hand, Ladybug felt the silver bell that she was still holding.

Three things happened in quick succession. Ladybug released her yoyo and fell towards the akuma while shaking the bell, the akuma’s focus seemed to shift to her, and the Turtle released shellter and rolled backwards while throwing her shield at the akuma’s mask.

Two arms reached towards Ladybug as she fell, but neither reached her as the akuma was flung backwards out of his smoke towards Chat Noir. She hit the ground and rolled as Chat Noir crushed sunglasses under his baton.

A little black butterfly fluttered harmlessly into the air until Ladybug snagged it with her yoyo. “No more evil-doing for you little akuma.” Ladybug smiled as she finished her usual post battle sayings and felt the familiar rush of energy as the Miraculous cure swept out into the city.

Striding over to join Khelone and Chat Noir, Ladybug raised her first. “You did great today, Khelone. Pound it.”

Khelone looked shocked at the outstretched hand but still slowly raised her own fist to meet Ladybug and Chat Noir in a three-way fist bump.  
Earrings beeping in her ear, Ladybug glanced at the new Turtle before looking at Chat Noir. “Eiffel Tower, usual time. Bug out!”

Normally not one to save the day and run, Ladybug figured Khelone would forgive her for being basically out of time. Jumping to the nearest rooftop, Ladybug was almost going to jump into the alley when a hand at her wrist stopped her.

* * *

Chloé knew Ladybug had to run, and she knew she only had a minute at most, but returning the miraculous was at the forefront of her mind. She had followed Ladybug to the roof as quickly as she could, dropped her transformation and slid the Miraculous off her wrist. Then she had quickly grabbed Ladybug before she could disappear because Chloé knew a second chance didn’t mean Ladybug trusted her to hold onto the miraculous until it could be collected.

Eyes wide, Ladybug looked confused, until her eyes focused on Chloé and somehow got even wider.

Chloé heard soft footsteps behind her and Chat Noir’s quiet, “Woops.”

Ladybug pulled her arm free, her eyes flicking between Chloé and Chat behind her. Her expression shifted from shock, to anger, to guilt, to something more neutral. Chloé didn’t know which emotions were directed at her, but she had a sinking feeling that Ladybug had no idea that Chat was giving her the Turtle Miraculous. 

Chloé stood in front of her hero and watched as she stepped towards the edge of the roof, fire in in her eyes, and jumped away. 

When she turned to face him, Chat Noir looked sheepish. Chloé was thankful for the second chance, but mostly just wished it had been Ladybug’s idea. She wanted to prove to her that she could do this, that she was worthy enough to fight beside her when needed, but now she felt like Ladybug would never give her a chance again.

The Turtle Miraculous hung limp in her hand and for a brief moment thought about throwing it at Chat Noir, or finding some way to go back in time to stop herself from accepting the Miraculous in the first place.

“Can you give the Miraculous back to Ladybug? I know she was out of time but I don’t want to hold onto it any longer than I have to.”

Chat frowned. “Chloé, I gave you the Turtle because I thought you would make a good permanent hero.” Chloé assumed she misheard. There was no way Chat Noir was trying to tell her that she was going to be a permanent holder, and there was especially no way this was happening if Ladybug didn’t agree. He sighed, “Her reaction wasn’t ideal I know, but I’m going to talk to her tonight and then everything will sort itself out.” He ran his hand through his hair before beginning to walk to the other side of the roof.

“What am I supposed to do with the Turtle? What if Ladybug wants you to take it back?”

His crooked smile was not reassuring her. “Keep it ‘til tonight, then I’ll come by and tell you it’s yours for real.” And then he jumped off the roof leaving her standing alone on a rooftop with her new kwami. 

////////

Chloé hadn’t actually known when the ‘usual time’ was for Ladybug and Chat Noir to meet was, but after arriving back at the hotel she had spent the first hour pacing, before settling outside on her balcony to watch the city and wait for Chat to come collect the miraculous. The breeze grew colder as she watched the city start to rest, and the longer she waited the more she considered she should wait inside.

Depending on how she thought about her situation, Chloé figured her second debut as a hero was going better than her time as Queen Bee. She was keeping her identity under wraps this time, not actively seeking recognition for her work in costume, and she was willing to give the miraculous back as soon as the mission was finished. Arguably already a more heroic effort on her part, but there was something that felt wrong about her use of the miraculous. Ladybug hadn’t actually wanted her on the team, she hadn’t been chosen. Chat had told her he had chosen her to wield the Turtle as a permanent member of their team, but how could she deserve to fight beside them when Ladybug had told her how undeserving she was when she had the Bee.

Chloé rolled the miraculous between her fingers. She hadn’t noticed after she had dropped her transformation, but the bracelet had changed shape. The miraculous was now a golden band, with a larger section on two sides engraved with a shell. A simple golden bracelet was more her style than a shell on a string, and was also more likely to blend into her normal accessories and be overlooked, but the change made her time as a hero feel more permanent than she knew it would be. Wayzz had tried talking to her, but she hadn’t been in the mood, instead sending him inside her room to eat the fruit she had gotten for him.

The sun had long since set, but Chloé still sat on her balcony. She would wait all night for Chat if she had to, but she didn’t want Ladybug to think she had run off to try and keep the Miraculous for herself. Almost as summoned by her thoughts, Chat Noir landed silently near the edge of her roof, smiling as he began to approach her.

“Guess which city now has two stunning blondes to protect it.”

Her heart felt as if it stuttered in her chest. “What?”

“Welcome back to the team, Queenie.” His smile grew even larger as he looked at her dumbfounded expression. “Don’t thank me too much, I just reminded Ladybug how good you were in that fight and how no one knows you as Khelone so there’s no need to worry.”

Standing to pace, Chloé tried to hear the trick in his voice. Tried to detect whatever reason he had for lying because why would Ladybug trust her a second time when things had gone so poorly the first. Chat Noir tracked her with his eyes, leaning on his baton as his smile never wavered. Chloé knew liars, and unfortunately for her he seemed completely sincere.

“So I’m the new Turtle? What if Ladybug decides I shouldn’t have a second chance anymore?” She wasn’t about to show Chat Noir that she was nervous and his answer would make or break her, but she felt like he could tell anyways.

His smile seemed to soften, less cool, more gentle. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Just show Ladybug how much you deserve it by being a good hero like I know you can. You’re the new Turtle, you’ve just got a bit of a trial run period before Ladybug realizes my choice was right.” 

His faith in her made her chest feel lighter and her pacing slowed until she stood overlooking the twinkling city below. “Okay.” It was mostly for herself, a small reassurance, but Chat still called out ‘good luck’ before bounding away and leaving her alone again. 

Chloé moved towards the edge of her balcony and leaned against her railing, Turtle Miraculous still hanging from her fingers. Wayzz floated through the closed door, coming to rest near her elbow and looking at the city with her. “Chat Noir has made a wise choice in picking you to wield the Turtle. I believe we will work well together.” 

A small smile spread across her face as she glanced at her tiny companion. Chloé would miss Pollen from the brief moments of getting to know each other, but she was looking forward to getting to know Wayzz. Maybe he was right and they would work well together. Chloé went back to staring out at Paris, and slid the Turtle back onto her wrist.


	2. We’ll Keep On Rising, It Leaves Me Aching To See Those Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe continues using the Turtle Miraculous on a trial run while she tries to prove herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! Chapter 2. This chapter is also dedicated to my love, bc her comments on my work keep me going.

A week and a half into her trial run found Chloé still feeling like she was a temporary holder waiting for Ladybug to take the miraculous away from her. There had been six akumas since Chat had told her Ladybug was trusting his judgement and giving her a trial run, but Chloé had only fought four of them. 

Interactions with Ladybug had so far been neutral at best, and awkward at worst. The first akuma she had tried to fight, Ladybug had just looked at her before asking her to keep civilians away and safe. The second akuma, she had gotten in a few hits, and blocked plenty with her shield, but had no reason to use Shellter. Ladybug had nodded after the battle but still didn’t speak to her. The third akuma had struck while Chloé was at a public event with her father and she couldn’t slip away from him to transform. The fourth akuma was when Chloé felt her interactions with Ladybug shift from awkward to neutral after she had apologized for her absence and Ladybug had just told her to be there when she could, but she understood not being able to hide from civilian life. Their battle conversations weren’t as playful as Ladybug and Chat’s, but it had progressed to more than just silence and little acknowledgement. The fifth battle had actually been a step back for her place on the team after a particularly strong akuma had surprised her and thrown her through a building. Even with the miraculous cure, Chloé had still been sore the next day. After a rookie mistake that led to her not contributing to the fight, Chloé resolved to do more in the next fight, to give Ladybug a reason to let her continue using the Turtle, but the final akuma had the ability to corrupt people into fighting for him, and Chloé never made it to the actual akuma battle. She had spent the entire fight protecting civilians from the corrupted people, and preventing the corrupted people from doing any serious damage to themselves.

So far, she figured her performance was enough to have her expect a visit from Ladybug any moment to take the miraculous. Wayzz was helpful, and very sweet in his encouragement, so even though Chloé hadn’t wanted to get attached, losing him would probably be the worst part of the Turtle being taken from her.

Her mood the past few days had been sour enough for Sabrina to notice and ask her about it, but she just passed it off as her father being too busy to spend time with her, which was true, but was mostly something she was used to now. After Ladybug had told her the truth about her attitude, Chloé had done some serious self reflection. The end results were not uplifting. After finally convincing Sabrina to be honest with her, and a very enlightening talk with Adrien, she had come to the conclusion that she was entitled and bossy, and more often than not, a massive bitch. Nobody would say she was Mother Theresa, or that her behaviour had turned around quickly, but Sabrina had helped her notice when she was being rude and tearing others down, and she had mostly been able to stop the unnecessary comments. She wasn’t perfect obviously, and had still snapped at classmates here and there, but she was working on controlling her temper and hadn’t been the cause of a single akuma attack since. Ladybug had made her reflect on herself, and she understood she wasn’t a good person. So how could she blame Ladybug for not thinking she was good in the mask? Chloé and Queen Bee were the same person, and all of Paris knew that. Khelone, however, was nowhere close to Chloé Bourgeois, and she was trying harder than ever to ensure Ladybug could see that.

Unfortunately for Chloé’s mood, dwelling on her past mistakes had eaten up a large chunk of her time and she was now running behind schedule for school. A brief glance at her phone showed multiple messages of confusion from Sabrina and knew she had to hurry. Chloé grabbed her school bag and checked to make sure she had everything. Phone, check, handkerchief for Wayzz in case he was cold, check, school work, check, tablet, check, and container of cubed watermelon, also check. She had started bringing two containers of food to school with her, one for Wayzz to snack on when he was hungry, and one that was designated only for emergencies.

Chloé was downstairs and out the door minutes later, with Sabrina trailing behind her excitedly recounting her morning.

Fortunately for Chloé, she got to school before the bell rang. She was later than usual, which meant she and Sabrina were the last two students to enter, somehow even later than Marinette, so their arrival briefly drew the eyes of most of their classmates. Chloé kept her head high and walked to her seat, knowing their eyes were curious and not cruel and she had no reason to defend herself. Mme. Bustier still hadn’t arrived, so Chloé busied herself with setting up her school supplies and tuning into the conversations around her. So far it sounded like the normal ‘Who’s better, Ladybug Or Chat Noir?’ that the class normally debated, and while her opinion had been and always would be Ladybug, she could allow herself to argue with her classmates if anyone got too crazy on the Chat Noir side.

“Listen, remember, Algernon? Hard fight sure, but there was a lot of cool stuff done.” Kim said. He was normally team Chat because of the baton wielding, but he could be swayed for Ladybug after a practically epic fight.

Alya huffed before throwing her arms out, “Yeah but, Carapace has never had Shellter falter like that, even in his earliest fights.” And oh. Oh wow. Her class was talking about  _ her _ . They were talking about Khelone versus Carapace.

Kim looked ready to argue more, but Adrien leaned forward in his seat, “I think Khelone was really cool for a first appearance. Algernon seemed strong, but she still managed to push against him despite the pressure, and it was her shield throw that really won the battle.”

Most of the class seemed to murmur in agreement, but Alya still seemed firmly team Carapace. Only Marinette and Nino currently seemed to be not taking sides, as neither of them were really looking at anyone else in the class and were instead focused on their desks.

Chloé loved Adrien, and hearing him support her in the mask was almost as sweet as when he did it for her outside of the mask, but she knew he was wrong. “Alya’s right. Carapace has never had Shellter falter before and he’s gone against a lot of tough akumas. Khelone’s throw seemed lucky, maybe Ladybug should have stuck with a real hero like Carapace.” Seeing Alya’s smug expression and Adrien’s look of betrayal almost made her wish she hadn’t spoken, but Marinette was staring directly at her now. Maybe Chloé had misjudged her not having a favourite hero, but the look in Marinette’s eyes was confusing. Chloé couldn’t place the feeling, and looked away before she could dwell on whatever the other girl was thinking. Thankfully, Chloé was saved from further thought by the appearance of Mme. Bustier and the start of class.

Chloé went through the motions of her day with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of Marinette’s eyes on her. They had felt calculating, like Marinette was absorbing every word she had said, but Chloé had no idea why Marinette would even care about her opinion seeing as how the other girl normally only cared what she had to say when she was defending the class from Chloé’s cruel remarks. By the end of the day, Chloé was exhausted and eager to go to a cafe with Sabrina and forget about the feeling of Marinette’s eyes on her all day.

Sabrina was taking Chloé to a cafe in the 10th arrondissement. It was a bit of a walk from the school, but it was a nice day and Chloé wanted to see the spring leaves reflecting in the Canal St. Martin. Sabrina had promised it was nice, not fancy like the places Chloé frequented, but a quiet place to work together on homework and unwind after a long day of work. 

Upon their arrival, Chloé had to admit that letting Sabrina pick their location had paid off. The cafe had a light environment, and the only sound other than the whir of machines was quiet chatter from the other customers. Sabrina went to set up their table and stuff away from the doors, and Chloé went to buy them drinks and a slice of cake to eat while they worked.

Just as Chloé was beginning to settle into a rhythm of work and idle chatter, she thought her mood might finally take a turn for the better. Of course, then she had to overhear a loud argument. Standing in the door was one of the cafe workers, arguing with someone outside. Chloé didn’t know what exactly was said, but another worker joined at the door before the person outside stormed off. The two workers then had a quieter dispute, and neither looked particularly happy, until the original worker threw down their apron and left in the opposite direction. There was a sinking feeling in Chloé’s gut that her day wasn’t going to get any better. Chloé really hoped that there wasn’t going to be an akuma, because even though it had been days since she had been knocked out of a fight, and since she didn’t appear to fight the akuma after that, she still had no idea how to explain it to Ladybug and didn’t want her to think she wasn’t taking any of this seriously.

The universe seemed to be against Chloé as minutes after the worker had disappeared, the front wall of the cafe was pulled free. Chloé couldn’t see the entire akuma, but it was big, it was mad, and it was yelling about revenge towards whoever was inside. Pulling Sabrina down with her, Chloé dodged a stream of brown sludge before grabbing her bag and running towards the back. “Hide Sabrina, I’m going to try to distract the akuma.” She was technically lying, but she was going to fight the akuma as Khelone so that had to count for something.

Chloé ran through the back of the store, past the ducking workers, and slipped out the back. She hoped the workers just thought she was running away instead of connecting her to Khelone. The back of the store exited into a closed off area, so Chloé ducked behind the nearest dumpster and released Wayzz.

“Wayzz, shell on!” After the familiar rush of the transformation faded, Chloé pushed herself away from the dumpster and jumped for the roof. She was worried about the civilians she had left behind, but also knew she needed to come from a different angle to make it look like she had been somewhere else and just had quick response time. Making sure to leap to a few extra buildings, Chloé came back to the cafe just in time to see the akuma shoot more brown sludge into the store.

Towering too high to fit into the small store comfortably, the akuma was floating above the street on two metal arms. The arms were attached to the akuma’s white jumpsuit via a large complicated backpack, and two more arms extended forward. The jumpsuit on the akuma looked odd, covering the entire body, and it took Chloé a second to notice that the akumas actual arms were too long for its body and were just hanging limply, swinging as the akuma moved.. The two metal arms not on the ground seemed to alternate between shooting the brown sludge, and metal claws that kept reaching into the store trying to grab something.

Wasting no time, Chloé jumped at the akuma’s back, pulling them down and flipping herself forward to land between the cafe and the akuma. Chloé could only prepare her shield and watch as the akuma used it’s metal limbs to push itself back up. The head lolled from side to side, and although the akuma was making a high pitch steaming noise, it’s mouth remained closed. Chloé was officially freaked out.

The akuma staggered forward before swinging their claws at Chloé as she blocked the swipes with her shield. The akuma tried a few more times before seeming to realize Chloé wasn’t letting it get to the store.. Then the akuma yelled. The ringing somehow got even louder and it was all Chloé could hear. Where Chloé assumed the mouth of the akuma was, had now fallen open and brown sludge was dripping out and falling to the road below as the sound got more and more painful. Glancing behind her, she could still see the cafe staff cowering, and the various customers who were hiding under tables. She saw Sabrina holding her hands over her ears behind an overturned table and knew that this akuma wasn’t going to touch any of them.

Chloé had seconds to prepare herself before the akuma began attacking with everything it had. She raised her shield too slow and one of the claws cut across her cheek, but the next one she deflected. The akuma tried to press forward, so Chloé kept moving to press it back, dodging the strikes when she had to, but deflecting most of them with her shield. It was exhausting. Chloé could only hope Ladybug or Chat Noir got here sooner rather than later.

* * *

_ Leave it to Hawkmoth to cause an akuma across town while I have family over _ , Ladybug thought. Marinette had faked sickness before escaping up to the bathroom and leaving through the window. The Akuma Alert had been updated within minutes that Khelone was on the scene, but there hadn’t been an update that Chat Noir had arrived, so Marinette was rushing. She still didn’t know how to feel around Chloé, guilt still eating at her from what she said, and mistrust due to what happened with Queen Bee, but that didn’t mean she wanted to leave her alone any longer than she had to with an akuma. Especially since the last few battles hadn’t been the easiest on her. 

The miraculous cure worked wonders, but Marinette knew it didn’t always heal Miraculous users as well as it did civilians and property, she had had enough sore nights to realize that, and Marinette had seen Chloé wincing after being thrown into the building. Chloé had pulled away after that battle and Marinette had honestly thought she had skipped the next one altogether in embarrassment or shame. Then Marinette had seen the news coverage of the corrupted civilians around Paris, and had to admit she had judged Chloé too soon when she saw the features of Chloé preventing them from hurting others and themselves. Marinette could admit that Chloé was doing a much better job than she thought she was going to, but she had the feeling Chloé didn’t think she was doing enough.

Arriving at the scene of the battle, Marinette almost fell out of the sky when she realized what was happening. Even from her distance, Marinette could see whatever slime was dripping from the akuma’s mouth and could see the way their head rolled around. The akuma unnerved her, but what really surprised her was Chloé. There was blood on her face, probably a swipe from the akuma, but there was fiery determination in her eyes as she defended strike after strike from the metal arms and used her shield to push away slime. There were civilians cowering in the store behind her, but Marinette only had eyes for Chloé. She had never seen the other girl this determined for anything, even when they had gone against each other for class representative, this was something recent, something Marinette had seen reflected in Chat’s eyes during a fight, but not something she expected from the rich girl below. Marinette saw fire, determination to keep those around her safe. There were too many civilians in the coffee shop, and none of them were moving away from the akuma and out the back, most of them seemed frozen while they watched the battle before them, and Ladybug knew she had to jump in.

Quickly scanning the akuma, Ladybug realized the actual body was almost entirely lifeless, all of the akuma’s movements came from the legs and arms, and they would most likely not be able to catch themself if their limbs were restrained to trip them. Khelone had to be up close to use her shield or to hit opponents unless she was throwing her weapon, but Ladybug had a weapon that excelled over a distance. Dropping behind the akuma, she threw her yoyo around the front of the body as the arms were preparing another strike, and pulled the string tight against their legs.

When the akuma hit the ground, it’s wailing began to cause nearby things to shake. Plates and food from the cafe was shaking off the tables onto the floor, and the ground felt unsteady under her feet. Keeping her hold on the string tight, Ladybug began approaching the downed opponent. The akuma was struggling against its binds, but the string was holding firm. As Ladybug came closer, Khelone huffed out a breath before smashing her shield down onto the akuma’s backpack, releasing the black butterfly. Quickly retracting the yoyo, Ladybug purified the akuma and released it. Khelone was still breathing deeply while the cure washed over the street, revealing a young person who appeared to work at the cafe based on their uniform. They were dazed, but otherwise seemed fine and Ladybug dragged her eyes away from the victim to Khelone beside her.

The determined expression from earlier was still present and Marinette froze. The fire in Chloé’s eyes, the heat that Marinette had seen while she had been protecting the civilians was still present and warmth bloomed in Marinette’s chest. Chloé’s expression was slowly shifting back into a passive face, but the heat that had made itself at home in Marinette’s chest only grew. Wordlessly raising her fist, Ladybug held her arm out for the usual celebratory fist bump, and Chloé met her without a word. Marinette could not remember the last time she had been this awkward as Ladybug.

“You did great out there.”

The smallest of smiles appeared as Chloé shifted away from Ladybug. “Thanks.” Ladybug watched Chloé jump away, and even though her teammate left, the warmth she had created stayed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This marks the halfway point for Fire as a story, and the following two chapters will be posted in two days time and four days time respectively. I'll try to post them both earlier in the day to try to break from my normal posting schedule of 1am. Comments and kudos are always appreciated and seeing them brings me joy.


	3. And I Can Barely Breathe When You're Here Loving Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Visits to someone's balcony can be seen as purely platonic, right? At least, that's what Chloe would tell herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 of 4. Almost done, and then I'll continue working on other projects.

After only two years of public school, Adrien was still sometimes unaware of what every social situation involved, or how to respond. But, there was one thing he knew better than any of his classmates. He had been friends with Chloé since they were children and knew her tells and cues better than anyone. If there was one social situation he could safely navigate with complete success, it was dealing with Chloé Bourgeois. Of course he had an advantage over Sabrina, because he had first hand knowledge for the more secret developments in Chloé’s life. 

Ever since she had become Khelone, her efforts to be better had increased drastically, instead of just trying to stop the mean comments and things she had done, Chloé had genuinely started apologizing to people. Not everyone had believed her right away, but Adrien had gone around to a few of their skeptical classmates and reassured them Chloé was being genuine. Change didn’t happen overnight, but his entire class had taken a turn for the better.

Adrien had never had the largest friend group, mostly choosing to hang out with Nino and occasionally Alya, or sticking with Chloé, but for the first time in years he felt like his class could become a more cohesive unit. Maybe he could finally hang out with all of his friends at once.

Nino was relaxed about most things, so Adrien figured he would probably be alright to all hang out together if Adrien asked, and then they might be able to convince Alya to come as well, but she was also the first snag in Adrien’s plan. Chloé’s apologies hadn’t made it to everyone in the class yet, and she seemed to be starting with people she had hurt less or who were more likely to accept the apology in a positive way. So Alya and Chloé still hadn’t spoken, and Alya was wary of Chloé. Adrien had managed to get her to trust him that Chloé was trying, so at least there were no drastic declarations to fight her should she hurt anyone, but Adrien didn’t think his larger friend group dreams were coming true anytime soon. Especially when the biggest snag in his plan was still suspicious of almost everything the blonde girl did. 

Marinette, who thankfully did not hate him, had begun to carry conversations with him in the recent year. He wasn’t as close to her as he wanted to be, but their friendship was refreshing, Adrien had always thought she was nice. After she had started talking to him, Nino and Alya had started making plans together that included all four of them. It was a dream come true for Adrien, for the first time he was actually getting to explore Paris in a group. But Marinette hadn’t trusted Chloé’s turn for the better, and Adrien had tried to reassure her that the other girl was being sincere but Marinette had just told him that they would see what happened.

So enter Adrien’s Multi-Part-Fantastic-Plan. Phase One; as Chat Noir, talk Chloé into visiting a civilian. If he has to, explicitly spell out it should be Marinette. Phase Two; Get Nino to convince Alya, to give Chloé a chance to apologize, because if Alya believes Chloé is genuine, they’ll have an easier time convincing Marinette. Phase Three; help Sabrina coach Chloé through giving an apology when you’ve hurt someone more than a quick sorry can fix. Phase Four; speak with Mme. Bustier about upcoming group projects, subtly hint that pre-picked pairs could be the chance the class needs to mend rifts. Their teacher loved having them say positive things to each other, and she had always seemed to push Marinette towards Chloé anyways, so now that could actually be used for good and it won’t, hopefully, end up hurting either girl. Phase Five; Plagg had just referred to this step as ‘Profit’, but Adrien didn’t think everything would work out so easily. He wanted his friends to get along but he also knew that neither of them actually had to interact outside of school.

He didn’t want to force his friends to do things they didn’t want to do, but he knew Chloé was working herself up to talking to Marinette eventually, and he thought the two would be great friends if they could just talk to each other. So with Plagg as his wingman, and master planner, Adrien set himself to work.

* * *

Fighting akumas was never really easy, but after Chloé’s first month as a hero filled with difficult akumas and anxiety over losing her second chance with a Miraculous, she was thankful that the Hawkmoth had been doing more repeat akumas and things had seemed to slow down. The easier battles had given her time to think about other things, like her relationship with Ladybug.

Ladybug was speaking to her like a teammate now, almost like a friend. She had recently started being included in the patrol schedule. Chat and Ladybug had been switching off patrol nights for almost the entire time they had been heroes, occasionally patrolling together or taking multiple shifts in a row to fit each week’s schedule into whatever was going on in their personal lives, but now they had a third team member to share the burden with. Chloé had been excited for an hour, before she realized patrol was usually just watching the city for akumas or citizens in need of help, and, when she patrolled alone, very boring.

Despite patrol being the least glamorous part of being a superhero, Chloé bit back her complaints, because no temporary hero had ever done this with the Miraculous Duo. Her inclusion, while not the most exciting thing, meant she was actually a part of the team. She was a permanent hero, Ladybug trusted her, and her second chance had led to her protecting her city instead of seeking fame. 

Patrol still sucked though.

After a few weeks of quiet from Hawkmoth, Chloé had been desperate and more than a little bored, and had asked Chat Noir what they had done on patrol for the past two years they had been heroes. He had told her more about the expectations they had established in the beginning, spending at least an hour and doing two sweeps of the city after dark whenever they were scheduled. When they patrolled the same night, they alternated between racing and splitting the city to be done faster to have time to bond. Chat had told her that Ladybug normally exceeded their expectations, he could see her pass his window sometimes a dozen times on her nights as she spent hours swinging through their city. He always met expectations but he started telling her the best spots in the city to grab a late night bite before he slipped up and mentioned he spent a lot of his slow nights talking to a civilian.

Four nights after their conversation, Chloé was alone on a roof. Chat probably hadn’t meant to give her an idea, but now Chloé was tempted, and debating finding a civilian of her own to talk to. Ladybug probably would not approve. Or definitely would not approve, but Chloé was reasoning with herself that talking to someone outside of the suit could only help her. She could hear public feedback from the public, work on her ability to share stories without revealing anything about her personal life, and could spend more time in the suit just hanging out which could only make her more comfortable. And maybe she mostly just wanted to have a conversation with the nicest girl in school without any of their history.

Chloé was conflicted. Marinette and her still weren’t really speaking at school like friends, but their arguments had almost entirely stopped, and when Chloé slipped and snapped at someone, Marinette just looked at her like she was trying to figure something out instead of like Chloé was the worst thing in the world. She wondered what having Marinette look at her like she meant something would feel like. She already knew she wasn’t going to pry about herself, Ladybug would be disappointed in her, and her conscience was telling her that was an underhanded move. But Chloé still wanted to talk to Marinette, to get to know her without their past, to have one civil conversation so she at least knew what having Marinette tolerate her would feel like even if they never spoke at school.

_ Stupid Chat. _ Of course he would tell her that he talked to a civilian but not mention how he did it or how to make it not weird. Chloé had been trying, honestly putting in effort, to organically start a conversation with Marinette as a hero, but she couldn’t just show up in her room, that would be creepy. She couldn’t buy food from the bakery, they closed an hour before she started her patrol, and she was above using her power as Chloé, or her influence of Khelone to get a special pick-up after hours. Not that she hadn’t thought about it. It just seemed wrong.

Despite being closed, the bakery still glittered across from her, mocking her with it’s brightness when she felt so torn up inside. Chloé sighed and leaped towards the roof of the bakery. Not that being closer to the source of her confusion had ever helped Chloé, but maybe squatting on the chimney above the bakery and scowling down at the balcony would make her feel better. It wasn’t so far, but she had time.

Lost in another internal debate with herself, Chloé barely had time to react when the window below her scraped open. A small figure with a head of dark hair was coming onto the roof and Chloé panicked. Attempting to take a step backwards to silently leap away, her foot missed the edge of the ledge she was on, and she threw her body forward to compensate. Chloé tried to channel her inner ballerina, and balance herself, but she overcompensated and pitched forward head first onto the balcony below her. Disoriented and dizzy, Chloé tried to refocus herself and saw legs standing in front of her, clad in pink jeans.

* * *

Marinette liked to think after being a superhero for two years, she could expect the unexpected better than anyone. And then Khelone fell head first onto her balcony out of nowhere and scared her enough that she dropped her sketchbook. She knew the suits helped against most damage, but Khelone had still falling from the sky and landed on her head, and Marinette thought that even Chloé’s thick head might be a little hurt after that.

“Uh, hi?” Chloé said. Marinette didn’t think she had ever seen the other girl look sheepish.

_ So much for my uneventful evening, _ she thought. Marinette sighed, “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” While she didn’t know how to feel about Chloé right now, Khelone hadn’t done anything to cause her to be rude.

Marinette left Chloé sitting on her roof, heading down into her home to find what she would need. Ice, for Chloé’s head, something to wrap it in as well, but while she was in the kitchen, she saw some leftover croissants from the day and grabbed those as well. Then she grabbed a blanket from her room because if she was going to have another superhero on her balcony, the least she could do was be a good host. 

Unsurprisingly, Chloé was exactly where Marinette had left her, but she had managed to sit herself upright while she held her head. Marinette crouched in front of the other girl and held out the wrapped ice. As soon as the ice was free from her hands, Marinette set to work. She set the croissants on a small table near her chair and then unfurled the blanket to wrap around Chloé’s shoulders. 

Chloé had interacted with Ladybug and Marinette multiple times over the years, but Khelone had only ever been around Ladybug. Marinette wanted to just leave Chloé on the roof by herself so that she could have a quiet night in, but she also knew Khelone didn’t deserve that. She was a good hero, and a good addition to the team. A civilian would have no reason to not want to talk to her, and even though Marinette knew it was Chloé, she also knew that Chloé didn’t really deserve to be left alone on her roof either, especially after her improving behaviour. 

With an internal sigh, Marinette bent to grab her sketchbook before sitting in her chair. “You can stay up here as long as you need, that fall looked like it hurt.” Glancing at Chloé, Marinette pushed the table with croissants closer towards her. “And I brought some croissants up if you’re hungry.”

Neither of them really spoke after that. Marinette would occasionally try to look at Chloé out of the corner of her eye, to see how she was doing, but when she started sketching, all of her focus went towards her latest outfit design. 

Marinette lost track of how long they were sitting in silence together, but the growing feeling of being watched snapped her back into the present. Her pen stilled in her hand as her eyes darted upwards only to find Chloé staring back at her. There was a soft smile on Chloé’s face, and Marinette stared at her for a few seconds before Chloé seemed to jump and focus.

Chloé seemed surprised to see Marinette looking back at her and stuttered briefly before managing to say, “Oh! I was just wondering what you were drawing. Maybe I could see it?” She paused before cringing slightly, “Only if you’re okay with it though?” 

None of the drawings she had done so far had been her best, and the last time Chloé had been involved with any of Marinette’s art hadn’t gone very well, but without thinking, Marinette wordlessly held her sketchbook out towards Chloé.

The soft smile from before reappeared on Chloé’s face, as she pulled the sketchbook from Marinette’s hands. Chloé’s hand lifted to trace the sketches with a finger, slowly tracing each of the designs Marinette had worked on, before lifting her gaze and beaming at Marinette. “These are all really good.”

“These are only a concept right now. I’ve got an outfit I have been trying to plan out but I keep getting stuck on the skirt.”

Chloé slid the sketchbook into Marinette’s lap before moving herself closer to lean towards Marinette and point at her sketches. “In this one, you used a longer skirt with a flair, it makes the outfit feel light, but a shorter skirt could tie the entire thing together.”

Looking at the outfit she had drawn, Marinette thought Chloé might be right. There was another outfit she had drawn recently that had been abandoned until inspiration struck, and Marinette quickly flipped towards it before bringing the sketchbook closer to Chloé. “What do you think of this one?”

* * *

Chloé hadn’t expected that landing on Marinette’s balcony would have led to this. They had been sitting together, pouring over Marinette’s sketchbook, for the past hour. Chloé would occasionally offer input to outfits that Marinette hadn’t liked a part of, or when she was struggling, but mostly Marinette just showed Chloé impressive outfits and beautiful clothing designs. It made Chloé wish she had started being nicer a long time ago. She had been missing out on probably the only person in class who could talk fashion with her.

The croissants Marinette had brought to the balcony were long gone by now, and the pounding of Chloé’s head had receded as her ice had completely melted. Despite her initial introduction being subpar, and her truly having no reason to stay this long, Chloé had quickly become captivated by Marinette. The other girl had been quiet when Chloé had first landed on her balcony, polite in the way she handled the situation and Chloé’s injury, but she had still felt like she had made a mistake by coming here, like she was an unwanted outsider seeing something she had no right to witness. She still felt like she had been given access to something precious, something she shouldn’t know, but as soon as Marinette had caught Chloé staring and their conversation had truly started, Marinette lit up.

Chloé had known the other girl’s fashion sense was almost as good as her own, but she hadn’t realized Marinette was this talented. The smile that had overtaken Marinette’s face while she went through page after page of concepts and pieces she had already made, had frozen Chloé in place. The Marinette that sat next to Chloé on the rooftop, the one who’s passion was a palpable force, was one that Chloé had never had the pleasure of experiencing, and now that she had she realized she never wanted it to stop.

From the beginning of their conversation, Chloé’s chest had been growing warmer. The feeling was different from the burning embarrassment that had ripped through her after falling onto Marinette’s roof. The heat had started low, barely noticeable as she sat in Marinette’s presence, but as the other girl had smiled and listened as they discussed Marinette’s designs, the heat had grown into the overwhelming blaze it was now. Chloé was sure that her face was completely red by this point, that somehow the heat in her chest had spread everywhere and consumed her.

It was getting harder and harder to focus on the conversation at hand, Chloé’s mind drifting to why she was suddenly feeling this way. Her traitorous body was going to calm down, so she could finish her first normal conversation, whatever warmth she was feeling could wait until after she had a good night with Marinette. Attempting to shove all thoughts other than fashion from her mind, Chloé refocused into the conversation in time for Marinette to introduce her newest outfit series. Outfits inspired by the heroes of Paris.

Most of the outfits followed the colour scheme or style of Ladybug and Chat Noir, though there were at least a few for the other heroes that had made appearances. Rena Rouge appeared to have the most for the temporary heroes, and there was even one that appeared to draw reference from Queen Bee, which Chloé felt was a little undeserved. But there, in the bottom corner, was an outfit that had her name neatly written below. Marinette had included Khelone in her collection. Marinette had designed something with her in mind, the hero that was actually doing something good. Slowly drawing her eyes up to Marinette’s face, Chloé found herself on the receiving end of a soft, seemingly unsure, smile.

Oh.  _ Oh. _

The heat made itself impossible to ignore as it became a fire in her chest, burning her from the inside out in a searing flash. Chloé realized in that brief moment that she would do anything for Marinette’s smile, and in turn the girl herself. The fire wasn’t just her body betraying her, it was her heart realizing why she had wanted so badly to exist in Marinette’s life, in some small positive way for once. She liked Marinette. She had fallen head first, literally, into a crush on the girl who she has been a brat to for years. Chloé was screwed.

After stammering out some kind of compliment, Chloé abruptly stood, her smile feeling shaky and nervous even to herself. “I just realized the time. I’m really sorry for taking up so much of your time, but your drawings were amazing.” Beginning to shakily make her way to the railing, Chloé paused. “And sorry for  _ dropping  _ in like this.” Oh god, she could never tell Chat that she had used a pun, especially since she had done it in front of her newfound crush in the middle of the worst escape attempt she had ever made in her life.

Fortunately for her, Marinette let out a brief, light laugh before resting her head in her hand and smirking at Chloé. “Feel free to _ drop _ by again.”

If Chloé would be asked to describe her departure, she would be forced to lie. She would call it graceful, a simple climb onto the railing, a confident smile over her shoulder, before jumping off into the night. In truth, one glance at Marinette’s smirk had her stumble into the railing, face aflame, as she leapt into the night in her best imitation of a panicked animal.

It was until she was back in her room at the hotel, face first into her pillow, Wayzz sitting in her back and gently touching her shoulder as she complained, that she recalled what Marinette had said.  _ Feel free to drop by again _ , despite her embarrassment at everything she had done since her realization, she couldn’t help the beaming smile that she gave her pillow.  _ Marinette wants to see me again _ . _ I can just visit Marinette now, and talk to her. _ She would have to prepare of course, there was no way she was going to fall onto the balcony ever again, and she needed to prep herself to be on the receiving end of another one of Marinette’s soft smiles, but she was elated. Maybe she could even work up the nerve to talk to Marinette at school. That was a tomorrow problem though, for now, she was going to tell Wayzz absolutely everything about the way Marinette had looked while showing her the outfit, and then she was going to need him to calm her down enough that he can help her learn how to deal with having a crush on someone who turned her into an actual mess with one smile.

While they were at it, maybe Wayzz could listen as she talked her way through her feelings so she could find out if this crush was something new, or if it had always been there and she was just terrible at recognizing her own feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter, and I'll post the final chapter in 2 days again. I hope everyone's excited for the end.


	4. With A Heart That’s Beating At The Speed Of Light, You’ve Been Waiting For This Feeling All Your Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A study session filled with gay panic and revelations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the fourth and final chapter, thanks for sticking it out to the end and I hope you enjoy.

Chloé had never had the Bee Miraculous for long enough to settle into a routine with Pollen. Their lack of routine didn’t stop them from bonding though. She had gotten to know the little kwami in the short time they knew each other, and she did miss her, but their relationship was nothing like the relationship she had with Wayzz. 

Where Pollen had agreed and submitted to Chloé’s every whim, Wayzz expressed his disagreement. He never scolded her, even when she probably deserved it, he instead just made suggestions for things she could be doing, or tried to help her come to the conclusion on her own. Chloé was thankful for him. Even in their short time together, he had made a positive impact on her life. Thanks to him, Chloé had started trying to accept things as they come to her in life. Which is why when Mme. Bustier had paired Chloé with Marinette for a book project, she had kept her freakout internal, and accepted the arrangement with a small smile. The Chloé who felt entitled to the Bee Miraculous probably would have thrown a fit or tried to force Marinette to do everything herself, but the Chloé who was still trying to deserve the Turtle and the trust of Wayzz just sent Marinette a soft smile and accepted that they would be working together.

Ever since Chloé had been appearing on Marinette’s balcony, she had been making more of an effort to acknowledge Marinette in school. A smile here, a wave after class there, and they had been having the most positive interactions between them in years. Chloé didn’t know if the smiling had been enough to make Marinette trust that she wasn’t trying to hurt anyone and was trying to change, but it seemed like the other girl was less suspicious, and she had smiled back at Chloé a few times.

Originally she had been bummed that she had managed at least one positive conversation with everyone else in the class, including Alya which was a miracle that Chloé still couldn’t believe, except for Marinette, but Wayzz had reminded her that progress was still progress regardless of how small it felt.

Chloé rode the wave of hope all the way to her first meeting with Marinette for the project. It had been in a coffee shop between their homes. Neutral ground for them to meet on.

She had arrived half an hour early, in part to find the perfect seat, she figured something closer to the windows so the light could make Marinette’s eyes sparkle, but mostly she needed the half hour to prepare for her first actual nice conversation with Marinette in years. Wayzz had helped her make a list of things she needed to do before they could actually start on the project and they had come up with a plan that had calmed Chloé’s nerves. First she would offer to get Marinette something to drink, as well as something to eat, while she went up to order her own things, so Marinette could settle at their table and they could both have something to occupy themselves with before Chloé moved on to part two. Then, she would apologize, genuinely, for how she had treated Marinette previously and briefly explain that she would no longer behave in the cruel way she had. Wayzz had added a point of expressing that Marinette was under no obligation to forgive her, and though Chloé wanted her forgiveness and friendship, she had to admit that Wayzz was right and had kept it. After her apology, they would work on the project, dividing things in a way that worked for both of them, and working together on what they needed to. If Marinette decided she didn’t want to work with Chloé anymore after her apology, then Chloé would then proceed with part four of the plan, which had been added as a just in case, where she would invite Sabrina over to eat ice cream, cry, and work on their projects so that Chloé wouldn’t be as alone as she would feel.

All in all, it was a simple plan, but having it written on her notebook, tucked safely in her bag beside Wayzz, had made her feel infinitely more calm about the entire project. All that was left now was for Marinette to arrive, and then everything would hopefully go according to plan, bar any akuma attacks that may occur, or epic fights between old rivals.

Chloé had brought her science homework to distract her, and had one airpod in to listen to her work playlist. The other earphone was in the bag with Wayzz, as he had revealed a love of music to her, and she hadn’t wanted him to be bored while he hid in her bag. Chloé became absorbed in her homework, to the point where she hardly noticed the figure who had approached her table, until said figure had cleared their throat. Chloé startled, and found herself looking up at Marinette.

Exactly as Chloé had expected, sitting near the window had caused the natural light to make Marinette’s eyes sparkle. In hindsight, she probably should have sat facing the window as one look into Marinette’s eyes had cleared every thought from her mind, including phase one of her plan. 

Wayzz, hidden from Marinette’s view by the table, had realized his holder had frozen. Briefly poking his head outside of the bag to check for eyes, Wayzz floated himself into Chloé’s lap before lightly jabbing her in the stomach with his paw to get her to refocus herself. If the brief glance and smile he received was anything to go by, he had succeeded. Wayzz slipped back into the bag as Chloé stood.

Gesturing at the other seat, Chloé said, “Can I get you anything? I’m going up to place my order and I figured I could just grab yours while I’m up there.”

“Oh sure! If I could just get a small hot chocolate, and two chocolate chip cookies that would be awesome! I’ll pay you back for it.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be right back.” Chloé’s internal monologue had devolved to prolonged screams. She was not at all prepared for this conversation and she had decided that whatever came out of her mouth was awkward and was making Marinette uncomfortable. She had no proof for this of course, but she was losing her mind with her nerves right now, and she just needed a half hour break to scream into her pillow and remake her plan with Wayzz because she could not do this.

Upon approaching the counter, Chloé quickly went through the motions of ordering her strong blonde roast and usual lemon cake, as well as Marinette’s own order before quickly paying and stepping off to the side. Her attention fell away from the teen working the counter to drift back to the table where Marinette had begun setting up her schoolwork. The light falling on her hair made it appear lighter, and even through a window, the sun had given Marinette’s skin a shine that had Chloé enraptured. Marinette’s hair was in it’s usual style of pigtails and Chloé fell into a daydream of Marinette letting her hair free, while Chloé would run her fingers through the hair. She almost missed the barista calling her name for her order, but quickly grabbed it and rushed back to the table with Marinette.

Chloé made sure to set Marinette’s order down first, before placing hers on the table and plopping back into her seat. She had left her bag hanging on the chair and she could see Wayzz giving her a tiny thumbs up from inside.

Silence stretched between the two girls as they both finished settling into their seats, neither really knowing how to begin. Chloé fiddled with the napkin in front of her, pulling it gently as she watched Marinette raise her hot chocolate to her lips. Momentarily distracted, Chloé blinked herself back into focus, deciding she needed to rip off the bandaid. 

“I’m sorry,” she rushed out. “I’ve treated you like shit over the past few years.” Not her most elegant of starts but the script she had jotted down between classes had slipped her mind. “You didn’t deserve my behaviour, or anything that came with the dumb rivalry I started. It doesn’t matter if I was upset with my life, or jealous over the one you had, I took my feelings out on you and hurt you in the process. You don’t have to forgive me, or believe me, but I know I’ve been terrible and I’m trying to change. I would love a chance to try to be your friend, but if that’s not possible, I totally understand and we can just focus on the project. I just needed to say that first.”

Chloé was actually a little proud of herself. She had spoken fast and she felt like she had rambled a little longer than necessary, but her words had come out clear and now at least Marinette knew. Whatever happened next, Chloé would accept. Even if it was a brutal rejection and she ended up crying with Wayzz later. Chloé promised she would accept the aftermath of her apology with elegance and grace so long as there were other people around to witness her.

Marinette had paused in drinking her hot chocolate, and had listened to Chloé’s spiel with a thoughtful expression on her face. The expression hadn’t changed, but her gaze had shifted from meeting Chloé’s eyes to staring out the window when Chloé had finished. Breath stopped in her throat, Chloé could only watch Marinette’s face for a sign. A subtle movement of her eyebrow, and Chloé’s heart had stuttered, a blink that felt slower than normal and she had almost choked, the smallest of twitches in her jaw and Chloé’s fingers began tapping a nervous rhythm. There was so much to read from Marinette’s expression, but Chloé was unpracticed in her language and could not tell the difference between truth and her own created fiction. 

After what had felt like hours, but could only have been moments, Marinette finally brought her focus back to Chloé. “I believe you. I’ve seen you in school recently, apologizing and trying to be nicer to people, so I believe you’re changing. I don’t know if I can forgive you for everything right now, but I think I’d like to try being friends and see how it goes.”

“Okay.” The relief that flooded through Chloé filled her veins and calmed her immediately. Maybe Marinette would never forgive her, but they could try to be friends, and maybe someday they would be close. For Chloé, it was the best news she had heard all week.

Marinette smiled at her before shifting a notebook between them on the table. “Let’s start breaking the project apart and figuring out what we’re going to do.”

* * *

The coffee shop study date had gone better than Marinette had expected. She was still surprised by Chloé’s apology, but after a moment to process she felt that the other girl was genuine so she had moved on to try to work with the other girl. After only a few minutes of discussion, they had discovered they actually had similar thought processes for their project, and were mostly on the same page already. Chloé had come prepared with a list of how they could break the project into parts that would require the least interaction from both of them if Marinette hadn’t wanted to work with her, so they had used that as a basis for division of work. After creating a schedule that would work for both of them, they had settled into a routine.

They each began writing their own parts of the project, occasionally breaking to discuss ideas and how to connect the two parts together, before falling back into the comfortable silence. Chloé had bought Marinette another drink and two more snacks in the time they had been there before Marinette had convinced Chloé to let her buy the next round of snacks.

The quiet chatter of the coffee shop was the perfect background noise as they worked together. And Marinette had used Chloé’s focus on their project to slip a cookie to Tikki when she had brought back the new snacks.   
  


All in all, Marinette had found herself genuinely enjoying the blonde’s company, though she couldn’t help but compare their current interactions to how Chloé had been when she was Khelone appearing on Marinette’s balcony. The other girl had offered an insight into fashion that Marinette had only managed to find in Adrien, and strangely, Chat Noir’s company, but the new perspective had been refreshing. Chloé had let Marinette go page by page through her book, letting Marinette explain the components of her favourite pieces, and offering thoughts to the ones that Marinette had been struggling with. Their first interaction on Marinette’s had been strange, and had ended abruptly, but every interaction since had genuinely made Marinette look forward to the next time she would see her.

When Chloé was Khelone and interacting with Ladybug, she was more serious. Her hero worship had faded with time, and now she was just a valued part of the team. They hadn’t managed to truly edge their relationship firmly into friendship territory in the months since Chloé had become a hero because Marinette always felt like Chloé was holding herself at an arm’s length from her. Despite proving herself time and time again, Marinette couldn’t help but feel that Chloé still felt the need to prove she should wield the Turtle. Marinette had almost been jealous when Chat Noir had managed to form a friendship with Khelone and she still hadn’t.

When Chloé was visiting Marinette’s balcony it was different. She still had the serious tone, and had actually been very careful about details surrounding her identity, but she was more relaxed. She would laugh more, smile brighter, and often made Marinette forget who was under the mask as they talked. It was a side of Chloé Marinette was unused to seeing, unguarded, relaxed, not afraid to do the cute snort laugh that she only used when she found something truly funny. It made Marinette miss a friendship she had briefly had with Chloé, but she still felt like there was something Chloé was holding back on the rooftop, something more than just her identity.

The Chloé that was sitting across from her was all of the parts, finally complete in one. As Chloé scribbled notes and wrote her part of their project, Marinette could see the seriousness of Hero Chloé. Every so often she would bite the end of her pen, or scrunch her eyebrows while she thought, and Marinette saw Rooftop Chloé. But above it all was the Chloé that Marinette had always known. Beautiful. Confident. But more relaxed, more open. The girl across from her seemed more content and genuine than Marinette can ever recall seeing her, and she was enthralled. 

Though she knew she should have been focusing on her own work, she couldn’t help but stare at the other girl. The more she looked, the more she saw. Logically she had known Khelone and Chloé were the same people, and she had always known that what one did, the other had technically done, but this was the first time she really got it. Chloé had changed from the girl Marinette knew. She hadn’t been paying attention before, but now that she could see it, she regretted not looking closer sooner.    
  
Chloé was different. Chloé had defended civilians in front of a coffee shop because it had been the right thing to do. Chloé had apologized. Chloé had sat on her rooftop talking with her about whatever had come to their minds when they strayed from fashion. Chloé’s mannerisms had bled into her interactions with Marinette the entire time she had been with the hero, and Marinette found that she was waiting for familiar movements she would see with Khelone.

But Chloé was the same. Her confidence was still there, though quieter. She still smirked when she was right. She smiled at Marinette when she showed off her drawings. She still caused a blooming warmth in Marinette’s chest that she could no longer pass as camaraderie with a fellow hero. The girl across from her caused the warmth, no matter what form she appeared in.

Chloé had turned to look at Marinette, a question in her eyes, and Marinette understood. Fire filled her cheeks, as her heart stuttered. There was concern in Chloé’s eyes, the same concern Khelone had when Marinette choked on a too large bite of muffin not even a week ago. It had caused Marinette to blush then, happy her rooftop company had cared enough to worry, but now it was Chloé, still just as concerned, though this time because Marinette had stopped working to stare at her, and Marinette truly understood. Her growing crush on Khelone, the sweet hero on her balcony, translated to the girl in front of her as well. She had a crush on Chloé.

Marinette bolted up in her chair before Chloé could speak, stuttering out a quick, “Bathroom!” before almost tripping multiple times as she made her way away from the table and into the bathroom. Dropping her face into her hands Marinette groaned in frustration. Of all the girls to have a crush on, it had to be her ex-rival, turned very recent friend. And she hadn’t even grabbed her purse before she had gotten up, so now she couldn’t complain about her love life to Tikki.

Taking a few minutes to compose herself, Marinette stared into the mirror.  _ Save your crisis for later. Go out there and finish working on your project. Then go home and tell Tikki everything. _

Sufficiently composed, or at least as good as she was going to get after such a revelation, Marinette exited the bathroom. Only a brief pause to stare at Chloé, and then she forced herself to carry on. No matter how this day ended, she was going to be normal, she was going to deal with her crush on Chloé in a normal way, and she was going to live a normal life and do highschool homework with her classmate like the perfectly normal girl she was. She could do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading Fire! This brings this story to a close, but I am working on touching up a sequel, and maybe a few short stories here and there. I really enjoy the universe I've created with Khelone and I definitely want to explore it more. If you're interested, you can check me out on tumble @ [MKW-Raider](https://mkw-raider.tumblr.com/) I'm normally pretty active there even if I'm not always posting or reblogging. If you enjoyed this feel free to comment or leave kudos, I check and appreciate everything and I'll be finding time over the next few works to work on more stories to bring for you folks.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks For Reading! If you enjoyed this story, I'm also on tumblr at [ MKW-Raider ](%E2%80%9Dmkw-raider.tumblr.com)
> 
> I'll be posting this story on a one to two day schedule until all of the chapters are posted so it shouldn't take longer than a week for everything to be posted.


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